Adaptability

Last week after two difficult years I decided to reopen my farm. I updated my website and thought briefly about posting a Blog. I didn’t because I had nothing to say.

Well today I have something to say - OMG is it hot.

Thursdays are garden days here on this farm. I love a routine it keeps me active and focused. I have a helper who comes every Thursday from 9 to noon. We start early and we finish by noon, before it gets too hot. Today we did not last past 11 am.

While working in the garden I spend hours observing and thinking. When I text my son sometimes I start by saying “I have been thinking…” I always wonder if his first thought is “oh no, not again - stop thinking”.

I have been thinking . . .

I am a morning person, I rise with the sun and set with the sun. I have always assumed all farmers are morning people. Animals need to be fed in the morning and it is coolest in the morning.

What happens if the mornings are no longer cool? It is 7 am and I am sitting outside typing this Blog and I can already feel the heat rising. How does a farmer adapt?

What about my farm how will people pick flowers if it is too hot? The flowers seem resilient. They seem to grow in draughts or too much rain. Will they grow in extended extreme heat?

Several years ago we were closed on select days due to extreme heat but those days were in August not the beginning of July. I believe in global warming. I am experiencing it, I can feel it and see it. I have six years of my own data to look back on and compare previous years.

How did we get to this point in time?

I’m at the tail end of the baby boomers, our parents motto was “make this plant a better place for our children”. I think they did. They survived first hand the great depression and two world wars. They were motivated.  So what happened to our generation? Is our motto “Lets destroy the planet for our children”. Looks like we are succeeding. At least we created the internet and cell phones to distract them from the pending doom. Their future will be indoors or maybe underground. Who needs nature when you have the internet and your cell phone? Maybe flowers in the future will only exist in pictures generated by A!. Endless flowers on a screen, no water needed.

Well as the heat rises, I will need to adapt. We do have beautiful sunsets here, perhaps I will adapt by having evening hours instead of daylight hours. Time will tell. Watch our “Hours” page for updates on closures, due to "extreme heat" or new evening hours.